PRODUCTION TEAM

ABHI SHRESTHA, Director

Abhi is a Chicago-based director, movement dramaturge, and educator originally from Kathmandu, Nepal. Working at the intersections of decolonization and queer brown narratives, they are the Education Associate at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Literary Manager and Director of Public Programming for Haven Theater, the Resident Dramaturge and Community Organizer for the Chicago Inclusion Project, and a content curator for Rescripted. They are currently working on exploring a personal history of the world as told by brown grandmas, in a performance installation called The Brown Grandma Project (working title).

GEORGETTE VERDIN, Managing Artistic Director

GEORGETTE VERDIN has been working with ITP since 2014. She is also a freelance director, theater and speech educator and arts integration specialist. She was the founding theater teacher at Polaris Charter Academy, an Expeditionary Learning School in West Humboldt Park, where she taught full-time for eight years. For Interrobang, Georgette directed last season’s Jeff recommended production of GRACE by Craig Wright, season seven’s production of the 2013 Yale Drama Series winner, STILL by Jen Silverman, as well as season six’s KATRINA: MOTHER-IN-LAW OF ‘EM ALL by Rob Florence and the Jeff recommended RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS, also by Craig Wright. Other recent directing credits include Jeff Recommended 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS (Assistant Director, Lookingglass Theatre Company), Jeff Recommended TIME STANDS STILL (AstonRep), PHOEBE IN WINTER (Assistant Director, Facility Theatre) and Goodman’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Assistant Director). Georgette holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA and a Master in Directing from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

JONAS HASSEN KHEMIRI, Playwright

Jonas is a celebrated author and playwright based in Stockholm. His novels have been translated into over 20 languages and his plays have been performed by over a hundred international companies on stages from Stockholm to Berlin to New York to London. Khemiri was awarded a Village Voice Obie Award for his first play Invasion!, which premiered in New York in 2011. His second play God Times Five toured Sweden and his third play The Hundred We Are received the Hedda Award for best play in Norway. Khemiri’s play ≈ [Almost Equal To] premiered at Dramaten in Stockholm in October 2014 to rave reviews and has been performed in Germany, Norway, Iceland and the U.S. His play I Call My Brothers began as an essay published in Dagens Nyheter in December 2010, one week after a suicide bombing in central Stockholm that shook the nation. The book was published to great acclaim and later became a lauded play that toured Sweden with Riksteatern in 2013 (directed by Farnaz Arbabi) and premiered in New York in January 2014. It has also been performed in Norway, Denmark, Germany (multiple theatres), Australia, San Francisco, France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland and at the Gate Theatre in London, UK.

RACHEL WILLSON-BROYLES, Translator

Rachel is a freelance translator based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She received her BA from Gustavus Adolphus College and her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her other translations include Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s novels Montecore and Everything I Don’t Remember, and plays INVASION! and I Call My Brothers. She has also translated Malin Persson Giolito’s novel Quicksand and Jonas Jonasson’s novels The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden and The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old-Man.

ELANA ELYCE, Artistic ProducerElana acts, directs, writes, coaches and produces. She first met Interrobang as a cast member of The Argument in 2012 and subsequently produced Here Lies Henry (2012), Hot N’ Throbbing (2012) and Speaking in Tongues (2013). After a hiatus, she returned to perform with fellow ensemble members in Still (2016) and resumed producer responsibilities for all productions that followed. Over the last few years, Elana has been seen with The House Theatre of Chicago, first appearing in the acclaimed United Flight 232, which won a Jeff award for best ensemble. She is now a company member with The House. Other theaters that have welcomed her in recent years include Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, Eclipse, Remy Bummpo, Stage Left & Theatre Seven, and The Yard/Raven Theatre. She is also the Business Manager of The Chicago Inclusion Project. www.elanaelyce.net

SHAWN GALLIGAN, Stage ManagerWith a background in performance, Shawn switched to stage management in 2011. But that's not to say he would balk at being dragged back onstage. He has worked for theatres in Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin, both onstage and backstage. His Interrobang Stage Manager credits include: Speaking in Tongues, Terminus, Really Really, Recent Tragic Events, and For the Loyal. Shawn spends his summers in Door County, Wisconsin where he is the ASM at Northern Sky Theater. He is a recreational cyclist, bike mechanic, and a lover of board games.

SARAH GISE, Casting CoordinatorSarah has been a proud ITP company member since February 2015. She graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) with a BFA in Acting. She was previously seen in Interrobang's Fifth Season productions, Owners and Really Really. She is currently a company member with New American Folk Theatre (Chicago) and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre (Los Angeles), with whom she won the LA Weekly Best Actress award for The Belle of Belfast in 2013. She can be seen at many film festivals around the country in the new film Halfway starring Quinton Aaron from The Blindside, which was awarded Best Feature at the Julian Dubuque International Film Festival. In February 2016, she performed the one-woman show The Amish Project with AtticRep in San Antonio, TX, and shortly after was invited to take the show to the Teatro Potlach FLIPT festival in Rome, Italy. She performed in the Midwest premiere of Still by Jen Silverman with Interrobang at the Athenaeum, followed by the remount of AtticRep's The Amish Project by Jessica Dickey with Interrobang last year.

ELEANOR KAHN, Scenic/Props DesignEleanor is a freelance designer in Chicago. She most recently designed Borealis (House Theatre of Chicago); The Fly Honey Show (The Inconvenience); 33 to Nothing (A Red Orchid Theatre); 9 to 5 and LIZZE: The Musical (Firebrand Theatre) and A Story Told in Seven Fights (Neo-Futurists). Other scenic work includes: Machinal (Greenhouse Theatre); Hairy Ape, The Mother, The Jungle and Waiting for Lefty (Oracle Productions); Moon Man Walk (Definition Theatre); Her Majesty's Will (Lifeline Theatre); Into the Empty Sky (Trap Door); What of the Night (Stage Left and Cor Theatre); Bobbie Clearly (Steep Theatre); The Way She Spoke (Greenhouse Solo Celebration); FORTS!, The Van Gogh Cafe, Fog Island, Monster in the Hall, and Lifeboat (Filament Theatre). She also did properties/set dressing for Southern Gothic at Windy City Playhouse and frequently works with The House Theatre and Chicago Childrens’ Theatre as a props designer. Eleanor received her MFA in Scenic Design from Boston University. Her full resume and portfolio can be seen at www.eleanorkahn.com.

JEFFREY LEVIN, Composer/Sound DesignJeffrey is a composer, sound designer, and musician based in Chicago, Illinois. Jeffrey is happy to be working with Interrobang Theatre for the first time. He has contributed original music and sound designs for over 100 productions for many theaters in and outside of Chicago. Awards and recognitions include eight Joseph Jefferson Award Nominations for Sound Design and Original Music, one Win, Edes Award for Emerging Artists, the Michael Philippi Prize (2016), Kleinman Composition Competition Winner, Chicago Theatre Award (The Hawk Chicago), two Broadway World nominations, and a Wilde Award Nomination. Masters of Music DePaul University and Bachelors of Music Columbia College Chicago. www.jeffreylevinmusic.com

NADYA NAUMAAN, DramaturgNadya is honored to be serving as dramaturg for ITP’s I Call My Brothers. She is also a writer, performer, and director, and ever eager to learn more. Previous work in Chicago includes Victory Gardens’ Lettie (ASM) and Miss Julie (Floor Manager) as well as ATC’s Welcome To Jesus (ASM) and We’re Gonna Be Okay (ASM). Nadya’s upcoming projects include Photograph 51 at Court Theatre (Assistant Director) and Language Rooms with Broken Nose Theatre (Assistant Director). In her spare time, she writes Bus Thoughts: Thoughts I Have On The Bus. Thank you to the generous people who have filled her first year in Chicago with joy! Much love to Abhi for all their light.

ALEC SILVER, Movement DramaturgAlec is an actor and movement director from Brattleboro, Vermont. He draws inspiration from international theatre and dance, and looks to create cross-cultural, interdisciplinary work on the American and world stages. This is his first time working with Interrobang Theatre Project. Alec most recently performed in Jackalope Theatre’s Living Newspaper Festival, and Haven Theatre’s Director’s Haven. He is currently playing Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. He is represented by Grossman & Jack Talent.

CHRISTOPHER AARON KNARR, Lighting AssociateChristopher Knarr is a South Bend, Indiana native, Chicago transplant, and is currently residing in Los Angeles, CA. He graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in Theatre & Drama and a Music minor, and studied abroad with The Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland. Recent credits include Interrobang Theatre Project's season eight production of For the Loyal, for which he created original music. For season seven's Still, The Amish Project, and Falling, he was House Manager, Marketing, and Social Media. He was also House Manager/Social Media for the fifth and sixth season, including Really Really, Recent Tragic Events, and The North Pool, and also was a part of past season productions of Orange Flower Water as a Production Assistant, and Terminus, The Pitchfork Disney, and Ibsen is Dead as Assistant Stage Manager. christopheraaronknarr.com

MATTHEW NERBER, Marketing AssociateMatthew comes to Chicago from Buffalo, New York, where he earned his BFA in theatre performance from SUNY Buffalo. He has been with ITP since 2014's Owners, which he understudied. He also assistant directed the company's production of Katrina: Mother-in-Law of 'Em All and played Andrew in 2016's Recent Tragic Events. Other Chicago credits include Her Naked Skin(Shattered Globe Theatre), Once in a Lifetime (Strawdog Theatre Company), and Assistance (LiveWire Theatre Chicago). Matthew has also assistant directed shows at Collaboraction and Redtwist.

NANCY PAYNE, Marketing ManagerNancy comes to ITP to provide marketing support and direction as Marketing Manager. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in strategic communication and business, she has been working in marketing and advertising full-time. As a lifelong theater advocate, she is excited to help promote ITP's mission and upcoming seasons.

DAVID ROSENBERG, Press Relations

ZOE VERDIN, Creative DesignZoë provides creative direction for all ITP print and digital marketing, while working as a freelance graphic designer and practitioner of Thai bodywork and trigger point therapy. Zoë has also worked as scenic designer/carpenter, costume designer and muralist on all main stage productions at Polaris Charter Academy since 2011. Her most recent designs include costumes and backdrop for the Academy’s Wiley and the Hairy Man and publicity for Interrobang’s Season Six: Unnatural Disasters. Zoë has a BA in Studio Art from Carleton College, with concentrations in ceramics and photography. Zoë is delighted to be collaborating with Social Media Marketing Guru, Christopher Knarr on publicity for Season Seven’s Flesh & Blood series, and with Ed Anderson on the ITP website.